


Make the Yuletide Gay

by robliz



Category: Holby City
Genre: Berena Advent 2018, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-01
Updated: 2018-12-15
Packaged: 2019-09-05 06:52:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 14,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16805626
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/robliz/pseuds/robliz
Summary: Short fics based on the Berena Advent 2018 promptsChapter 1: Gift wrapping: Jason wants an eco-friendly Christmas this yearChapter 2: Family: Bernie's first grandchild is bornChapter 3: Carol singing: Bernie accompanies Serena to the first carol service since her mother diedChapter 4: Mrs Claus: Bernie takes her kids to see Father ChristmasChapter 5: Puppy: Gwen gets a puppy for her birthdayChapter 6: Mistletoe: Bernie enlists Fleur's help in making Serena jealousChapter 7: Waiting: Serena waits for Bernie to proposeChapter 8: Snowball fight: Bernie and Serena look after the Fletchlings in the snowChapter 9: Christmas with Adrienne: Elinor turns up on AAU injured and pregnant





	1. Gift wrapping

“No wrapping paper? What am I supposed to do then?” Serena protested.

Jason stared at her and folded his arms.

“Auntie Bernie thought it was a nice idea,” he said.

Serena huffed. “Auntie Bernie has some funny ideas about gift wrapping.”

“Well me and Greta want to set a good example to Guinevere. We want her to grow up caring for the environment so that means no wrapping paper. Did you know that it takes fifty thousand trees to make the wrapping paper we use at Christmas in the UK? And not all of it can even be recycled!”

Serena relented at the mention of her great niece. “Fine.”

Jason grinned at her. “Thanks Auntie Serena!”

He bounded off down the corridor and Serena headed off in the opposite direction to AAU.

Bernie was in their office already sat at her desk using the computer. She took one look at Serena’s face and frowned.

“Jason caught you up then?” she said.

“So he’s expecting me to give him all their presents wrapped in what? Plastic bags?” Serena moaned.

“Not a good look for under the tree,” Bernie admitted. She motioned Serena closer. “But look. I’ve found something much better!”

Serena walked over to Bernie and peered at the screen. “What is this?”

Bernie placed her hands on Serena’s hips and pulled her down onto her lap, causing Serena to shriek. She wrapped her arms around Serena’s waist and held her tight.

“Look,” she said, “Furoshiki. It’s Japanese.”

Serena looked more closely at the pictures on the screen. “It’s cloth?”

Bernie nodded against her shoulder. “Reusable and versatile.”

“They look good.”

“I thought you could run some up on that sewing machine of yours. There’s loads of bits of fabric in the cupboard.”

Serena patted Bernie’s hands. “Thank you Bernie. These look great.”

Bernie squeezed her tightly around the middle before loosening her arms to let Serena get up.

“This weekend?” she said, “Maybe we can have a go together?”

“This weekend.” Serena placed a chaste kiss on Bernie’s lips. “But now I should go and see to the patients.”

That weekend found Serena hemming the fabric on the sewing machine while Bernie cut the pieces to the correct size. Bernie had put on some Christmas music and was singing along badly. In the corner was a pile of Christmas presents to be wrapped.

Serena began hemming the final piece of fabric. Bernie, now free from her cutting obligations, began to dance around the room as she sang. Serena stopped sewing to watch her for a moment. She looked ridiculous, her limbs completely uncoordinated and threads of fabric stuck to her woolly jumper. And yet Serena was overcome with the urge to kiss her.

Bernie turned and faced Serena, grinning. “Why’ve you stopped? Get back to it!” she said, waggling her finger.

Serena crooked her own finger and Bernie approached. She bent down and kissed Serena quickly, pulling away as she tried to deepen the kiss.

“Na-ah. No more kissing until we’ve done the presents! Gwen is coming ‘round this afternoon and we don’t want them unwrapped when that happens.”

Serena acquiesced. She had no intention of spoiling the surprise for her great niece. She spun around on her chair and went back to the sewing.

The sewing all done, the pair of them sat crossed legged on the floor, a present and a length of cloth in front of each of them.

“How is this supposed to work?” Serena asked.

“Dunno. Thought it would be obvious,” Bernie said.

She tried wrapping the box of Lego in front of her with the cloth but it didn’t come out looking right. Half the present was still visible and there didn’t seem to be enough fabric to tie a bow on the top.

Bernie huffed.

Serena laughed. “Not so obvious after all?”

Bernie shook her head.

“Well then I think we need some help.”

Serena grabbed her phone from the table and opened up YouTube. “What did you call this thing again?”

“Furoshiki,” Bernie supplied and Serena typed it in.

Soon they were both following the instructions of a video, Bernie regularly pausing it as she got herself all tangled. Serena’s attempt at the end was significantly neater but at least you couldn’t see the box anymore with Bernie’s.

“Right two done, twenty six more to go,” Bernie said, placing both of the wrapped presents under the tree.

Serena sighed. “Remind me again why there are so many presents to wrap this year.”

Bernie flushed. “Because we’re nice, generous people?”

“Oh no I remember,” Serena said, “It was because I let you shop on your own and you don’t know when to stop.”

Bernie’s flush deepened. “You don’t usually mind,” she muttered.

Serena’s eyes darkened. She crawled across the floor to Bernie, pushing her down on her back. “Did I say I minded?” she growled.

Bernie lifted her head to meet Serena’s lips and pulled her down to the floor on top of her, their lips never parting. Serena buried her hands in Bernie’s hair and melted into her.

“I do love you Bernie Wolfe,” Serena said when the kiss broke.

“And I love you, Serena Campbell,” Bernie replied, “But we still have a lot more presents to wrap before I can show you just how much!”


	2. Family

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fits into the same universe as Now we are sixty but you don't need to have read that to understand this. I'm also working on another story in the same universe set at Christmas four years later.

Morven was rushed into hospital, her labour starting a month early, on Christmas Eve. Suddenly all the plans they had made for Christmas were up in the air. Cam paced around the delivery room, alternating between reassuring his wife and texting his mum to keep her updated.

Bernie and Serena sat, phones in their hands, in their own living room. The room that was decorated for Christmas with decorations everywhere. Charlotte sat opposite them, distracting herself with inane Christmas specials on the tv. Serena was glad that Jason, Greta and Guinevere had elected to spend the night at their own house before coming over in the morning. At least they weren’t caught up in all this uncertainty.

Serena had drifted off against Bernie’s shoulder when Bernie’s mobile rang, waking her up.

“Bernie Wolfe,” Bernie barked into the phone, her military manners coming out more strongly when she was stressed.

“Oh Cam I’m so glad!”

The change in tone was dramatic. Serena pressed herself closer to the phone to try and hear what was being said.

“…kept in for a few days but they are all really happy with her. Morven too.”

Tears were running down Bernie’s face now and Serena reached up to brush them away with her thumb. Bernie smiled at her and ended the phone call.

Charlotte had switched off the tv and come to join them.

“So?” she asked excitedly.

“She’d had the baby,” Bernie said, “A girl. And she’s fine.”

“Oh thank goodness,” Serena breathed.

Charlotte wrapped her arms around her mum and Serena. “It’s really okay?” she asked.

Bernie nodded. “It is. That makes you an auntie!”

“And you a grandma!” Charlotte shot back. “When can we go and see them?”

“Cam says that Morven is really tired so can we wait until the morning?”

Charlotte agreed and went off to bed herself. Serena grasped Bernie’s hands tight. She could feel the emotions coming off Bernie in waves.

“Okay?” she said.

Bernie nodded. She breathed a huge sigh of relief. “Okay.”

“Come on grandma. I think its time we got some sleep as well,” Serena said.

She pulled herself and then Bernie to their feet and they climbed the stairs, hands still entwined. She helped Bernie to wash and change into her pyjamas and they slipped into bed.

Once in bed, Serena held Bernie close. She felt a wetness on her shoulder and realised that Bernie was crying. Serena ran her fingers through Bernie’s hair to sooth her.

“Hey now, what’s the matter?”

Bernie snuffled a bit. “Was just so worried,” she said, “It could have all gone so wrong.”

Serena kissed the side of Bernie’s head. “Yes it could but it didn’t. It didn’t and everything is fine. Morven is fine. The baby is fine. And tomorrow, if you get some sleep, we can go and see them.”

Bernie nodded, her head still buried against Serena’s shoulder. “Will you read to me?” she asked, “It helps me sleep.”

Serena reached over to the bedstand and picked up the book sitting there. Opening up the first page, she began to read out loud. As she read, she rubbed gentle circles onto Bernie’s back with her spare hand. Soon enough, Bernie’s body relaxed and she fell into a deep sleep. Serena put the book down, wriggled herself down the bed, and soon joined her.

Christmas day itself, Morven found her room overrun by family. Bernie, Serena and Charlotte had arrived first thing in the morning, laden with presents and food.

Bernie cried when her tiny granddaughter was placed into her arms. Serena wrapped her arms around Bernie’s waist from behind, peering at the baby over Bernie’s shoulder.

“Hello baby. I’m your grandma,” Bernie said, one hand stroking the baby’s head.

“Have you got a name yet?” Serena asked Cam and Morven.

“Jessica for a first name,” Morven said, her eyes never leaving her daughter, “Not sure about the middle name yet.”

Bernie spun around to face Serena. “Jessica, meet Serena,” she said, “She’s going to be your grandma too. Aren’t you lucky?”

And Serena found that there were tears running down her face as well.

Jason, Greta and Guinevere turned up mid-morning, Guinevere in particular desperate for a look at the new baby.

“Is she my cousin?” she asked as baby Jessica was placed into her lap.

Jason screwed up his face trying to work out what relation they were before Bernie just stepped in with a yes. It didn’t really matter anyway how they were related. All that mattered was that they were family.


	3. Carol singing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AU where Bernie arrived at Holby in 2014

It had long been a tradition in the McKinnie family, passed down from mother to daughter. Every year without fail, all the women of the family would head out to one of the local churches to attend a carol concert. There, surrounded by candles, they would sing their hearts out to the old, familiar tunes. None of them were particularly religious but they all enjoyed this one note of Christianity in their otherwise secular holiday.

The year Adrienne died was bleak. The pain was still raw when the leaflet from the local churches dropped through their letterbox. Serena picked it up and ran her fingers over the dates listed. They’d never claimed a particular church as their own. Serena’s shifts had to be worked around and the usually just went to whichever service fitted in best. She took the leaflet through to Elinor but she showed no interest.

“Do we have to go again this year?” she moaned, “I thought it was just something that Granny liked.”

Serena bit her lip to stop herself crying or shouting at her daughter. She was entitled to her opinions, even if it hurt, she thought as she went to throw the leaflet away. But just them the thought of the lovely new consultant on AAU crossed her mind. Bernie Wolfe had only started with them recently but Serena had been drawn to her instantly. She wondered if it would be acceptable to ask her to attend the carol service with her. She wasn’t sure but she stuffed the leaflet into her handbag just in case.

The opportunity to ask Bernie presented itself sooner than she expected. They were both sat in their office late one evening, catching up on paperwork, when Bernie’s phone buzzed. She picked it up and read what Serena assumed was a text message. As she read it, she visibly deflated.

“Everything okay?” Serena asked.

Bernie nodded. Then changed her mind and shook her head. “No. Not really. I invited my kids round to my flat the weekend before Christmas but they just texted to say no.”

“Oh I’m sorry Bernie,” she said. She knew what it was like to have children who didn’t want to see you. The only reason she ever saw Elinor was that they lived together and Elinor expected to be fed. Otherwise she was sure that she’d never see her.

Bernie shrugged her shoulders and sat back in her chair. “Don’t think they’ve forgiven me yet for the divorce.” She sighed. “I suppose that is yet another weekend sat in by myself.”

Serena’s hand itched to reach out and touch Bernie, to offer some level of comfort. But she wasn’t sure their tentative friendship was quite there yet. She did however remember the Christmas service leaflet, still in her handbag. Maybe they could both get something out of this?

“Bernie?” she asked, nervously. They’d never done anything together out of work, except for the odd trip to Albie’s. “You don’t have to say yes or anything, please don’t feel obliged.”

Bernie was leaning forwards on her seat now, looking intrigued. “Go on.”

“Well I just wondered if you wanted to come to a carol service that weekend. With me.”

Serena reached into her handbag and pulled out the leaflet, passing it to Bernie who took it with a look of wonder on her face.

“You really want me to go?” she asked shyly.

Serena nodded. “I used to go with my mum and Elinor but…”

She didn’t even have to finish the sentence for a look of understanding to cross Bernie’s face.

“Of course I’ll come with you. Which one are we going to?”

The leaflet was open now. Serena leant over their desks and pointed at one of them.

“I like this one best. They have the most songs to join in with.”

Bernie smiled. “Sounds lovely.”

Serena couldn’t help but return the smile. “I’ll pick you up if you like, if you’ll tell me where you live.”

Bernie was waiting by the roadside when Serena pulled up in her car. She was stamping her feet and rubbing her hands together against the wintery cold.

“Hi!” Serena called, winding down the window.

Bernie smiled and rushed around to the other side to climb in the passenger seat. She buckled herself in and held up her hands against the air vent to warm them up.

“You know there is a new-fangled gadget to keep your hands warm,” Serena commented. “It’s called gloves.”

Bernie laughed. And Serena realised she had never heard Bernie laugh properly before. It was glorious. And loud. She was glad she hadn’t set off driving yet, it might have been enough to cause a crash.

They slipped into the carol service just before it started, taking their seats in the back row of the pews. There was a short welcome and then the first carol was called. They both reached for the hymnals and flicked to the right page, before standing with everyone else and singing _God rest ye merry gentlemen._

Bernie sang beautifully, Serena thought. And her face and hair glowed in the candlelight. She looked like an angel. Bernie took her eyes off the hymnal for a moment mid carol and looked over at Serena. Serena felt her face turn bright red at having been caught staring but Bernie just smiled gently back at her. Then Serena felt a cold hand slip into hers and squeeze it softly. She squeezed back and felt a rush of joy flow through her, such that she hadn’t felt since before her mother’s illness. Bernie was turning pink now and they both turned back to their hymnals, hands still clasped together.

They didn’t drop their hands all the way though the service. Bernie’s hands gradually warmed and even though Serena could feel her palm getting sweaty, she didn’t want to let go. Bernie’s hand in hers was an anchor. She worried that she would drift away on waves of grief if Bernie wasn’t there to stop her.

Bernie tugged her to her feet as soon as the service ended and they were the first ones to slip out of the door into the frosty night. They walked back towards the car, still holding hands, only dropping them so that they could climb in opposite sides.

Serena drove back to Bernie’s house in silence. Her head was full of emotions. Grief, at not having her mum there by her side. Happiness, that Bernie was there.

She pulled up outside Bernie’s house and turned off the engine. She placed a hand on Bernie’s arm to stop her getting out for the moment.

“Thank you for coming with me,” she said, “It really meant a lot.”

“Thank you for inviting me,” Bernie replied, “I had a lovely time.”

They both sat there in the car, neither quite brave enough to speak or even make eye contact.

“Well I suppose I’ll see you on Monday,” Serena said, breaking the silence.

Bernie glanced up at her. “Yes. I suppose you will.”

She went to open the car door but then had a change of heart. Quick as a flash, before Serena could properly react, Bernie leant over the gearstick and placed a kiss on Serena’s cheek. Then she turned and leapt out of the car.

Serena brought her hand shakily to her cheek where Bernie’s lips had touched. She just about had the sense within her to turn and watch Bernie trot up her garden path and unlock the door. She held up a hand and waved as Bernie stepped inside and turned around. Bernie waved back before closing the door behind her.

Serena sat in the car for a few minutes trying to control her breathing before driving back to her empty house. And that night when she lay in bed, she smiled with the memories of Bernie Wolfe’s hand in hers, and Bernie Wolfe’s lips upon her cheek. Maybe, she thought, just maybe, this year wasn’t going to be a total write off.


	4. Mrs Claus

The shopping centre was busy and Bernie had to take a moment to calm her breathing. Cameron and Charlotte rushed on ahead and she jogged a few paces to catch up with them. They were surrounded by Christmas lights and tinsel and holly with tinny Christmas music coming through the speakers. Each shop had tried to outdo itself with their Christmas displays, glitter and lights everywhere to try and catch the attention of the shoppers. But Bernie’s two kids saw none of it. Their focus was entirely on the grotto that had been set up in the open area in the centre.

By the time Bernie caught them up, they were already in the queue, practically vibrating with excitement. She put a hand on each of their shoulders and glanced around at the other people in line. It was a series of over-excited children with their clearly very weary parents and grandparents. She smiled at the mum behind her in line as she tried to control a toddler who didn’t seem to understand the concept of a queue.

There was a sign up next to them that detailed the prices of the visit to Father Christmas. Underneath it, in small writing, it said ‘All proceeds will be donated to the children’s ward at Holby City Hospital’. Bernie smiled. Holby City had been the hospital that had patched her up after the IED had blown her to pieces and she was glad that a worthy cause would benefit from the extortionate amount of money she was about to pay out.

The line moved slowly and Cameron and Charlotte began to get impatient. It was a long wait when you were only four or seven. Just at the point that Bernie was about to give up and tell the kids they could come back later, a woman appeared from out of the grotto.

“Look!” Charlotte said, pointing at her.

“It’s Mrs Claus!” Cameron said, knowledgeably, “She’s Father Christmas’s wife.”

Bernie just stared at this vision of a woman in front of her. She had neatly cut, short dark hair, immaculate make-up and a figure that was currently on full display in the Mrs Claus outfit. The red dress was low cut enough to give a hint of cleavage and the skirt stopped mid-thigh, showing off some rather magnificent legs encased in black stockings. A black belt around her waist just exaggerated her curves.

The woman came right out of the grotto and approached the queue of children and carers.

“Hello boys and girls,” she said, and if the sight of her had captivated Bernie, then her voice was enough to make her knees weak, “I hear you have all been waiting very patiently.”

There was a smattering of yeses from the assembled children and eye rolling from the parents.

“So I thought we’d have a nice little sing-song while we are waiting. Who knows the words to Away in a Manger?”

Hands shot up everywhere, including Cameron and Charlotte. Bernie didn’t move one inch, unable to believe that the vision of loveliness in front of her could possibly be real. Her eyes were trained on this woman as she led the children, and some of the more enthusiastic parents, in a rather tuneless rendition of various Christmas carols. At one point the woman glanced Bernie’s way. Bernie tried to duck her head to hide her staring but her movement was too slow and she was caught. When she looked back up though, the woman had a bigger smile on her face and a slight blush across her cheek. She kept glancing over at Bernie and smiling right up until Bernie and the children were right at the front of the queue.

“What lovely singing!” she said as the assembled crowd finished singing We Wish You a Merry Christmas, “But I’m afraid I’m going to have to leave you now. Father Christmas needs my help inside his grotto.”

With one last glance Bernie’s way, she slipped into the grotto. A man dressed as an elf came out and began managing the queue.

“How many children?” he asked Bernie.

“Just these two,” she said, pointing at Cameron and Charlotte.

She handed over the correct amount of money and was ushered into the grotto.

If Bernie had thought the shopping centre was Christmassy, she was in for a shock when she entered the grotto. There wasn’t a spare inch that hadn’t been decorated. Bright fairy lights shone from everywhere and there, right in the middle, was Father Christmas on a large red chair. Not that Bernie was looking at him. Her eyes were caught by the woman standing to his side.

Bernie fumbled with her camera as the woman helped Cameron and Charlotte in turn up onto Father Christmas’s lap. They both gushed about everything they wanted for Christmas and Bernie tried to memorise as much as she could. Not that she was going to be able to provide Charlotte’s request that her mummy move back in with the rest of the family. She felt Mrs Claus’s eyes fall on her at that comment.

Father Christmas handed them each a small, wrapped gift passed to him from Mrs Claus. Bernie tried to avert her eyes as the woman bent over the sacks of presents to pull out a suitable one. Her skirt rode further up her legs and Bernie caught a glance of the top of the stocking and the bare skin above. The woman turned around and Bernie hoped that her face wasn’t as bright red as it felt.

Once both children had spoken to Father Christmas and received their presents, Mrs Claus showed them to the back door of the grotto. The children skipped out happily and Bernie was about to follow them when she felt a hand on her arm. She looked up to find Mrs Claus there with a small smile on her face. There was something in her hand and Bernie found a small piece of paper being pressed into her own hand. She looked at it confused. It was a business card.

“We all deserve a present,” Mrs Claus said before pressing a quick kiss to Bernie’s cheek.

Bernie gaped at her for a moment before remembering the children.

“Thank you,” she said before rushed out of the grotto.

It wasn’t until she had dropped the children back with Marcus that she actually looked at the business card she had been given.

_Serena Campbell_  
Vascular surgeon  
Holby City Hospital

There was the usual professional contact details alongside it but when Bernie turned the card over she found something scribbled on the back.

_Drink sometime?_  
07832 572 515  
Mrs Claus xx

She picked up her phone and inputted the number. Then, after multiple attempts at how to phrase the text, she sent a short message.

_Drink sounds wonderful. Feel free to wear the outfit. Bernie xx_

Maybe this was the start of something wonderful.


	5. Puppy

Serena knew this would happen. Knew that at some point it would all become her responsibility, like so many things before. She knew when Jason first suggested it but had hoped that it would blow over. She definitely knew when Gwen excitedly told her on the way home from school a week later but by then it was all too late. Jason and Gwen were both set on the idea and even Greta seemed on board. Bernie just told her not to worry and that it would all be alright in the end. But Serena wasn’t so sure. And so all she could do was make preparations for the inevitable outcome of their decision. And on Gwen’s sixth birthday, a puppy arrived in the Haynes household.

To being with, it all seemed to be going well. Gwen did her best to look after it and train it, with her parents help. When Serena was looking after Gwen, she took them both on walks to the park and they taught Bobby to play fetch. Bernie sometimes took Bobby with her on runs and long walks, ones that Serena begged off of with flimsy excuses.

But the inevitable did happen, as it is prone to doing. In the run up to Christmas, the weather was awful. There was rain none stop for days on end, and when it finally stopped raining the temperature dipped below zero and turned the wet ground into one massive ice rink. The wind gusted through Holby, taking down trees and sheds as it went. Hail bounced off the pavements one day as Serena tried to make it over to the Haynes household.

Bobby didn’t take kindly to the weather. He whined when anyone tried to take him out in the rain, even if it was just to the back garden to use the toilet. He dug his claws into the carpet and growled as debris blew past the door. This reluctance to go outside had resulted in small puddles appearing around the house. All of their careful housetraining in the summer seemed to be going to pot now the winter weather had well and truly set in.

Serena could tell Jason was struggling with this. It wasn’t nice arriving home each evening to multiple puddles, and worse, that needed cleaning up. He tried to bear it for his daughter’s sake but it wasn’t really working out. He was arguing with Greta and causing Gwen to cry. So Serena had a quiet word with Bernie one evening and they presented their proposal to the whole family at dinner the next day.

“But he’s my puppy!” Gwen cried when Serena had finished speaking, “You can’t just take him away!”

She ran from the room in flood of tears. Serena started to stand to follow her but was stopped by a gentle hand on her arm.

“Let me,” Bernie said, “You’re enemy number one right now for trying to steal her dog. I’ll talk her round.”

Serena acquiesced and sat back down with Greta and Jason.

“It wouldn’t be forever,” she said, trying to explain herself, “Just until Bobby is better behaved. I thought it might take the pressure off you…”

She kicked herself mentally. Once again she had stepped in to solve a problem without consulting others. The glare she was getting across the table from Jason reminded her that he was a grown, married man who could take care of his own family.

“You don’t have to say yes,” she whispered.

Bernie reappeared soon afterwards, her arm around Gwen’s shoulder.

“Gwen has something she wants to say.”

She gave Gwen a gentle push forwards. “Go on, Gwen.”

Gwen glanced back at Bernie then turned to the adults at the table.

“I think Bobby should go and live with Auntie Serena and Auntie Bernie for a bit.”

Jason looked at her confused. “Gwen why? You love that dog.”

Gwen nodded. “Bobby is being very naughty at the moment and he is making you and mummy upset. I don’t want you to be upset anymore.”

Greta swept her daughter up in a hug and Jason patted her back.

Muttered words of apology passed between the small family and an understanding was formed. At the end of the meal, Gwen helped Serena and Bernie to pack up Bobby’s things and waved from the door as the car drove away. Their household was already kitted out with most things necessary to keep a dog happy and healthy, thanks to Serena’s preparedness in the summer.

One consequence of Bobby coming to live with them was that they were inundated with visits. Gwen insisted on coming round almost every day to check on Bobby. Fletch’s kids somehow caught word that they had a dog and Evie, just back from uni for the holidays, was tasked with driving them over so they could come and play. Donna’s girls wanted in on the dog as well and soon Serena’s house was overrun with children all wanting to see Bobby.

Another consequence was that they lost their lazy mornings lying in bed. Someone had to get up and feed Bobby, as well as take him out into the garden. They bought Bobby a coat to keep him warm and dry and this seemed to help his reluctance to go outside. Serena was very firm with the little dog and soon had him back housetrained like before. She knew that Bernie was much more of a push over and more than once had caught her feeding Bobby titbits under the table at dinner but this didn’t seem to affect his training too badly.

But it was nice having another warm body to curl up with on the sofa in the evening, even if that warm body did smell a bit and had a tendency of licking their faces.

They all spent Christmas together at Serena’s. Jason exclaimed at how much better behaved Bobby was now.

“Maybe he can come back and live with us soon?” Gwen asked.

“I don’t see why not. Let’s get new year out of the way and then we can think again,” Jason said.

And so mid-January, Bernie and Serena were relieved of the additional burden of looking after Bobby. He returned to the Haynes household along with his new coat and a leaflet about puppy training classes. And Bernie and Serena settled back into their quiet household. It was nice, having the house to themselves again. Visitors were much fewer and far between and they got their long, lazy mornings back.

But one morning Serena woke to find the bed next to her empty. She padded downstairs, pulling on her dressing gown as she went, and found Bernie sitting at the kitchen table, rapidly cooling cup of tea in front of her, flicking through photos on her phone and sighing.

“What’s the matter?” Serena asked Bernie, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

She leant close to see what Bernie was looking at on her phone. It was picture after picture of Bobby.

“I just miss having him around,” Bernie said mournfully.

Serena pressed a kiss to Bernie’s head. “I suppose this means that we are going to have to visit the rescue centre.”

Bernie looked at her confused.

“Well we can’t go taking Bobby back off Gwen now can we.”

Bernie looked even more confused. “Serena…”

“So we’ll just have to go and get one of our own instead.”

Bernie’s face lit up. “Really?”

“Really,” Serena confirmed. Because, if she was honest with herself, she’d really missed having Bobby around the place too. 


	6. Mistletoe

It had been an awkward month since Bernie’s return from Ukraine. Serena seemed to have decided to ignore her completely unless their discussions were purely professional. Bernie had tried to apologise every way she knew how. There had been flower deliveries, cards, handwritten love letters, coffee with love hearts drawn on the cup, everything that Bernie could think of. And yet Serena was still resolute.

As the Christmas decorations began to appear around the hospital, she had one last idea left. Enlisting the help of a few key people, she set about putting her last-ditch plan into action. Fletch supplied the mistletoe and together they liberally decorated as much of the hospital as they could get away with. It was all over AAU and down the corridor. It was stuck in various places around Pulses and even in the lifts.

Her first attempt at the plan involved trying to catch Serena under the mistletoe. This plan soon backfired as Serena was far to cautious to get accidently caught under the mistletoe with Bernie. She kept a wide berth around Bernie most of the time anyway but now could be seen carefully weaving her way around the ward, avoiding all the mistletoe as she went.

It was a chance encounter with Fleur that gave her the second idea. She was in Pulses, head down on the table as she tried to stop thinking about Serena again, when Fleur sat down next to her.

“Don’t tell me you’re hungover too,” Fleur commented, sipping her mug of coffee, “We can’t be giving the F1s the impression that doctoring is all about getting drunk in the evenings.”

Bernie lifted her head to look at the woman next to her.

“Fleur Fanshawe,” she said, sticking out her hand for Bernie to shake, “And if I’m not mistaken, you are the one and only Berenice Wolfe.”

Bernie took Fleur’s hand and gawped at her. “How do you…”

Fleur just smiled. “Let’s just say that a certain AAU consultant hasn’t shut up about you since you started here. I was intrigued so I figured I’d come take a look. And my, my. She really wasn’t exaggerating when she described you!”

Bernie flushed under the scrutiny. “You’re one of Serena’s friends?”

“Friend, confidant, admirer,” Fleur stated. She looked at Bernie’s confused expression and took pity on her. “I used to work with Serena, years ago. We kept in touch. And when a job came up in Obs and Gynae recently, she got in contact and I decided to return to my old stamping grounds.”

“Oh.”

“Now are you going to tell me what’s the matter with you or are you going to get back to napping in Pulses? I do have to say that you might find the on-call room more comfortable.”

There was something about Fleur. It wasn’t so much that Bernie felt like she could trust her or even that she would understand. And being Serena’s friend, this might all be a terrible idea. But there was just that something maybe in the way she looked at her, that made Bernie spill the whole sorry story.

Fleur patted her on the arm when she was done. “I wondered about your side of this story. Serena has told me her side over and over again but I always thought there would be more to it than she was letting on.”

“I just want to say sorry to her. I just want to be friends with her again,” Bernie said, staring down at the table.

“Now, now. No more lies. You don’t just want to be friends with her anymore than I just want to be friends with that magnificent woman. Difference is, she actually fancies you. So what are we going to do about it?”

They hatched a plan, sat there in Pulses, and enacted it rather swiftly. They both headed off to AAU together. A quick glance around the ward saw Serena by the nurses’ station. Perfect. They stopped, both of them together, right underneath some of the mistletoe Bernie had hung before. They both looked up at it, grinned and then Fleur was tugging Bernie down by the neck and kissing her. Bernie stumbled. She hadn’t expected Fleur to kiss her like that. She’d expected a chaste kiss on the cheek whereas she was getting the full on Fleur Fanshawe experience right now.

When they pulled apart, Bernie’s cheeks were burning bright red. She peered over at Serena and found her purposely avoiding looking at them. She must have noticed though as her cheeks were flushed and her breathing laboured.

“Right. Thanks,” Bernie muttered to Fleur before disappearing into the office. She could hear Fleur’s laughter behind her as she closed the door and sank into her chair.

Serena avoided her for the rest of the day. Bernie mentally kicked herself for having made things worse. It had been Fleur’s idea, the kiss under the mistletoe, but Bernie had gone along with it. Fleur said that Serena just needed a push to fall back into Bernie’s waiting arms, and a bit of jealousy would do nicely.

The following day when Bernie was doing ward rounds, she noticed movement over by their office. Taking a step closer, she noticed Serena walking towards the office with a man she didn’t recognise. Serena was blatantly flirting with him, touching him on the arm and laughing at his jokes. Then they stopped, just outside the office, and Serena pointed up at the mistletoe above the door. Bernie had a sudden urge to run up to it and tear it down but her feet wouldn’t move. Instead she stood stock still and watched as Serena passionately kissed this man right there on the ward. She couldn’t look away, had to make herself watch. It was clear now that Serena wasn’t interested in Bernie anymore because Bernie was a woman. She wanted a man.

As Serena drew away from the kiss, her head turned and she locked eyes with Bernie. She raised an eyebrow as if in challenge and Bernie spun on her heals and ran out of the ward.

She didn’t know where she was heading, had no destination in mind, but she found herself ten minutes later in Obs and Gynae. Fleur took one look at her and whisked her into her office.

“What’s happened?” she asked, straight to the point.

And Bernie stuttered out what she had just seen.

Fleur just patted her on the shoulder. “Stay here. I’m going to do some investigating,” she said before leaving Bernie sat there in a strange office.

It wasn’t long before Fleur was back, this time with a protesting Serena in tow. She forced Serena down into a chair opposite Bernie and wagged her finger at both of them.

“You are both ridiculous,” she said, “You need to talk. Now. I’m not letting you out of this office until you’ve resolved everything.”

She turned to leave the room but reached into her scrubs pocket as she went.

“Here. You might need this,” she said, throwing something back towards them.

It landed on Serena’s lap. Mistletoe.

Serena turned angrily to Bernie. “Now I don’t know what your new girlfriend is doing dragging me here,” she started.

“Girlfriend?” Bernie asked.

Serena raised an eyebrow. “Fleur,” she spat.

Bernie flushed. “Oh no. She’s not my girlfriend.”

“Oh so you regularly kiss random consultants in the hospital then?” Serena said angrily.

Bernie ducked her head, embarrassed. Because the only consultants she’d ever kissed on hospital grounds were Fleur and Serena. And there was only one consultant that she wanted to kiss anywhere in the future.

“It was Fleur’s idea,” she muttered eventually.

“I’m going to wring that woman’s neck the next time I see her,” Serena said, “She’s supposed to be my friend for goodness sake! And then she goes around kissing my…”

Bernie looked up at Serena as she paused. “Your what?”

Serena turned her gaze on Bernie. “Co-lead.”

Bernie’s shoulders sunk. Of course co-lead. She wasn’t anything else to Serena right now. But maybe they could go back to being friends.

“Who’s your new boyfriend?” she asked tentatively.

Now it was Serena’s turn to look surprised. “Boyfriend?”

“The man. Just now. On AAU.”

Serena laughed a hollow laugh. “Oh like he’d be so lucky. Been there, done that. Never again thank you very much.”

Bernie stared at her. “But…”

“Robbie has always been a great kisser,” Serena continued, “And the mistletoe was right there…”

“That was Robbie? As in your ex-boyfriend Robbie? Robbie that you slept with while I was in Ukraine?”

Serena raised an eyebrow at her outburst. “Yes. Problem?”

Bernie settled herself and shook her head. If Serena wanted to carry on like that with her ex-boyfriend, it wasn’t like it was any of her business.

There was a rattling at the door and Fleur’s head appeared. “For goodness sake you two, can’t you do anything without my help! Serena, Bernie and me kissed to try and make you jealous. Bernie, your plan clearly worked. Serena was jealous and to get you back she kissed Robbie. Now can you two please kiss and make up already! I need my office back.”

Fleur’s head disappeared and the door shut again. Not that either of the two women in the office noticed. They were both looking at each other with wonder.

“You were trying to make me jealous?” Serena asked.

Bernie looked down at her feet and nodded. “You wouldn’t talk to me. Didn’t know what else to do.”

She felt rather than watched Serena move closer to her, wheeling the chair until their knees were almost touching.

“What did you want to say to me?” Serena asked quietly.

Bernie took a deep breath. This was her chance. She wasn’t going to mess it up.

“I’m so sorry Serena for running off and hurting you. I don’t think I’ve ever loved someone as much as I love you and it scared me so badly.”

She looked up as she felt a hand on her knee.

“You love me?” Serena asked.

Bernie nodded. She placed her own hand on top of Serena’s. “More than anything in the world.”

“Are you still scared?” Serena asked.

Bernie couldn’t lie. “Yes,” she said. She felt Serena begin to withdraw her hand but she gripped firmly onto it. “But I’m done with running away from my feelings.”

Serena nodded. “How do I know you’ll stay this time? I kissed you before Kiev. We made plans for dinner. We both know what we intended to happen. So how do I know you won’t do it again?”

“Because…” Bernie fought for the words. “Because I can’t bear to hurt you ever again. You’re the best thing that has ever happened to me and I won’t let go of that again.”

She didn’t know whether it was going to be enough. Didn’t know whether Serena would even believe her. She loosened her grip on Serena’s hand so she could leave if she wanted to.

“I think we might be needing this after all,” Serena said, her face breaking out into a grin. In her free hand she held up the sprig of mistletoe Fleur had given her. She held it up above their heads. “Well?”

Bernie wasn’t going to ignore an invitation like that. She leant forward in her seat and pressed her lips firmly to Serena’s. The mistletoe fell to the floor as Serena combed her fingers through Bernie’s hair and Bernie ran her hands up and down Serena’s arms.

There was a sound of applause from outside the office and Fleur burst in, breaking them apart. They looked at her, matching blushes across their cheeks.

“Well, well, well. Seems we’ve sorted ourselves out!” Fleur said, mirth in her eyes.

Neither Bernie nor Serena said anything but Bernie felt Serena slip her hand into hers.

“Now scram. You’ve got your own ward to see to and I need my office back.”

Obediently, they both got to their feet and left the office, both sneaking smiles at each other as they went.

“Drinks at Albie’s next week?” Fleur called after them, “I want all the sordid details. It’s what I deserve for my matchmaking!”

They laughed as they turned the corner. There was still a lot to sort out between them but thank to a little mistletoe, and Fleur’s intervention, the future looked much more promising.


	7. Waiting

It was May when Serena first found the small, blue box nestled in the back of Bernie’s sock drawer. With shaking hands she opened it up to find a simple diamond ring glinting in the sunlight. She pulled the ring out and slid it onto her ring finger. A perfect fit. Then she put the ring back in the box and the box back in the drawer and resolved to wait. She didn’t want to ruin the surprise Bernie was clearly planning for her.

She expected the ring to appear on their holiday to Italy in June. She’d just assumed that it was packed into the bottom of Bernie’s suitcase. But candlelit dinner after romantic boat ride went by with no proposal and Serena tried not to be too disappointed. After all, she was on holiday with the love of her life, she didn’t need anything more than that.

They managed a short weekend away in July, heading out into the wilds of Wales to escape the heat of the city. They walked in the hills, enjoying the breeze on their bare arms and ate their lunch in little cafes. They wandered round small towns and peered into antique shops, Bernie always managing to find the most ridiculous items for sale. They curled up together at night even though it really was too hot for so much skin contact. And yet they returned to Holby with no ring upon Serena’s finger.

One day in August, Bernie announced that she wanted to take Serena to the seaside while the weather still held. Serena eyed Bernie’s handbag all the way there in the car, hoping that the small, velvet box would be inside. They walked along the beach eating ice creams and paddled in the sea. Bernie fell asleep under a parasol as Serena lay on a towel next to her and read a trashy novel. They ate fish and chips for lunch and ducked into an Italian for dinner just before they headed home. No ring appeared at any point and Serena began to wonder if she had imagined its existence.

She genuinely thought it was happening in September. They were out at a country park one weekend, walking in the formal gardens, when Serena turned around to see Bernie kneeling on the path behind her. Her heart jumped into her mouth as she took a step towards Bernie, expecting the ring to appear in her hand at any moment. And then Bernie stood up and shook herself out. And Serena realised that Bernie had just been tying her shoelace. There was no proposal that day.

Bernie arranged a special meal out for Serena’s birthday in October. She wouldn’t tell Serena anything about it except that she needed to dress up nicely. Serena’s heart missed a beat as she realised that this was it. Bernie was finally going to propose. She put on a new, red dress that hugged her curves in a seductive manner and allowed Bernie to escort her to the waiting taxi. The taxi pulled up outside the Pear Tree Restaurant, Holby’s only Michelin starred restaurant and Serena gripped Bernie’s arm tightly as she climbed out wondering how on earth Bernie had managed to get a table. It was always booked up months in advance. They were seated in a secluded corner of the restaurant where they shared a delicious meal accompanied by copious amounts of very expensive wine. Serena kept glancing at Bernie’s suit jacket, wondering if she was imagining the bulge at the pocket. Once the meal was eaten and Bernie had paid, she suggested a wander along the street while they waited for their return taxi. Serena agreed readily, thinking that Bernie would want to propose somewhere private. They walked along the street towards the deserted park at the top. Serena thanked Bernie profusely for the meal and Bernie hugged her tightly against her. And yet Bernie turned them around before they reached the park and brought them back to the restaurant where a taxi was waiting for them. Once they returned to the house, Bernie showed Serena exactly how much she meant to her but there was still no ring.

They had planned to go out for a meal for their anniversary in November but it had been a long, hard week and Serena suggested that instead they stay in with a take-away. Bernie agreed and they ordered Chinese before curling up close on the sofa in front of a film. The film was soon being ignored in favour of kisses and touches that became more and more heated until they decided to take it up to their bedroom. Serena sang Bernie’s praises to anyone close enough to hear and Bernie whispered her love into Serena’s ear. And as they fell asleep that night, every inch of their bodies pressed together, Serena tried not to be disappointed about the continual lack of a ring.

Christmas rolled around with its usual array of carolling, decorations and chaos. Bernie and Serena were exhausted with the pressure of running a busy AAU, planning the staff Christmas party and buying Christmas presents for everyone they knew. It was a relief when actual Christmas appeared, both of them managing to get two days off this year. The rest of their family had opted to spend Christmas in their own homes and so they were by themselves for the actual day. Bernie spent the whole day in elf pyjamas, dancing around the kitchen as she cooked the meal. She kissed Serena firmly when Serena gave her the present of a new watch, both of their names engraved on the reverse. There was a small present under the Christmas tree with Serena’s name on it and she picked it up with trepidation. Was this the ring at last? Was this how Bernie was planning on proposing? She ripped off the paper to find a familiar blue box. With shaking fingers, she lifted the lid, glancing over at Bernie. But once the box was open fully she saw that it wasn’t a ring after all but a pair of earrings. Beautiful earrings at that. She told Bernie that her tears were for the beauty of the jewellery, nothing to do with the lack of a proposal she had been expecting for months.

Boxing day, they woke up in the comfortable warm bed, Serena’s head pillowed on Bernie’s shoulder, her hair a mess. Bernie still had the remnants of Serena’s lipstick on her cheek from the day before. Serena snuggled in close to Bernie, relishing having her close and warm, but Bernie pulled away and slid out of bed. Confused, Serena sat up and watched her as she walked over to the chest of drawers and opened up her sock drawer.

“Cold feet darling?” she asked as Bernie routed around inside it.

And then Bernie was turning around, a small blue box in her hand. “Never,” she said like a promise and Serena’s mouth hung open.

“Bernie?” she asked, hardly daring to believe this was actually happening.

Bernie knelt down in front of the bed and opened the box so that Serena could see the ring for the first time in seven months.

“Serena?”

Serena pushed back the covers and crawled to the edge of the bed so she could reach Bernie. She took Bernie’s trembling hands in her own.

“Bernie, darling, is this…?”

Bernie nodded. There were tears pricking at her eyes now. “I love you Serena Wendy Campbell,” she whispered, “And more than anything else, I want to spend the rest of my life with you, as your wife. If that’s okay?”

Serena smiled and sank down onto the floor next to Bernie.

“Of course it is,” she said, wrapping Bernie in a tight hug, “Of course it is.”

When she pulled back, Bernie plucked the ring out of the box and Serena held up her hand to allow the ring to be slid onto her finger before kissing Bernie firmly.

“I’ve had this ring for ages,” Bernie confessed later, “But I was worried you would say no.”

“Never darling,” Serena said, hiding a secret smile. One day she might admit to having known about the ring all along but not yet, not now. Right now she just wanted to reward her brave, brave Bernie and dream about the rest of their lives together.


	8. Snowball fight

It was February half term and somehow, neither of them were quite sure how, Bernie and Serena had been roped in to looking after the Fletchlings. They’d planned a day out, figuring it would be easier than trying to entertain four very different children in one household. The zoo was open throughout the half term, catering to the hoards of children with nothing better to do.

But on the morning of their plans, they all woke to a Holby covered in a thick layer of snow. Bernie, up with the larks as usual, didn’t notice until she opened the front door to go on her usual early morning run and stepped out into a good six inches of snow. Her shout of shock woke Serena who blearily came to the top of the stairs.

“Snow!” Bernie said, more than a hint of excitement evident in her voice.

Serena groaned and pulled her dressing gown tighter around her. “How bad?”

She came down the stairs and peered out of the door. “Hmm. Looks like that zoo trip is off. There’s no way we are getting the cars off the drive.”

Bernie turned, looking worried. “Will Fletch even be able to get the kids here?”

“Not sure. I’ll give him a ring. Now come inside and close that door. You’re letting all the heat out.”

As it turned out, Fletch couldn’t get his car out either but since the buses were getting through on the main roads, he managed to get the kids there without too much fuss. He left them with a quick hug and hurried back in the direction of the main road to catch a bus towards the hospital.

Bernie and Serena surveyed the four snow covered children standing in front of them in the hall and Serena sighed.

“What are we going to do with you lot then?” she said.

The answer to that, at least for the next ten minutes, was attempt to get them out of their cold weather gear. Evie managed fine but Mikey had a boot that wouldn’t come off, Ella’s zip got stuck and Theo cried every time anyone suggested removing his hat and gloves. In the end they made it into the sitting room in one piece, Theo still in hat and gloves but without his coat and boots. Serena hung all the wet things up to dry while Bernie tried to draw the younger ones into a game of I Spy. Evie had pulled a book out of her bag and had settled herself on the chair in the corner. Mikey was routing through Jason’s DVDs in the hunt for something interesting to watch.

It turned out that the journey over to Serena’s had worn out the Fletchlings and so they were content with a lazy morning. Serena dug out Elinor’s old Duplo for Ella and Theo to play with and Mikey selected Iron Man to watch in the back room. They all helped make soup and fresh bread rolls for lunch and ate at the table, watching the snow continue to fall outside the window.

The food restored their energy and soon the house was full of running, screaming children. Evie volunteered to take her siblings into the garden.

“There’s loads of snow. We can build a giant snowman!” she said.

If they had thought it difficult to get the children out of their outdoor clothing in the morning, it must have been ten times more difficult to get them back in. But eventually they managed it and the four children trooped out into the back garden, Bernie and Serena watching them from inside the house.

They made a gigantic snow man and Serena went into the kitchen to find a carrot for its nose. Then they lay on their back and made snow angels. Bernie leant out of the window and snapped a few pictures of them to send to Fletch. Just at that moment, Mikey gathered up a ball of snow and threw it straight towards the window, smacking Bernie in the top of the head.

“Hey!” she shouted as the children all dissolved into giggles.

She turned around to find Serena bent double laughing.

“Nice to know I’ve got your sympathy,” she grumbled.

“Oh darling,” Serena said between snorts of laughter, “You should probably go and get him back.”

And so Bernie did. She pulled on wellies, her thick coat, gloves and a hat before running out of the back door, pelting anything that moved with snowballs. Serena just watched her through the window, making sure it was firmly shut. A couple of snowballs landed right in front of her on the window pane and she saw Bernie straight ahead of her sticking her tongue out.

“Right. That’s it,” Serena announced and she kitted herself out to go out in the garden and join the melee, throwing snowballs straight at Bernie while ducking to avoid the ones thrown by the children, delighted at having Serena join them.

By the time Fletch arrived to pick up the kids, all six of them were covered head to toe in snow. Their fingers were cold but their cheeks glowed with joy. Fletch just raised one eyebrow before shuffling the kids out of the garden and into the street.

“You’re as bad as them,” he said with a parting wave, “But thanks for having them.”

Serena leant against the wall and tried to catch her breath. Bernie joined her, linking their gloved hands.

“That was fun,” she said and Serena laughed.

“It was. But I know something even more fun,” Serena said, wiggling her eyebrows.

Bernie just took one look at her and pressed her firmly against the wall, kissing her soundly. Then she sprung away and began to run towards the door.

“Last one in bed is a rotten egg,” she shouted behind her and Serena rolled her eyes before following Bernie inside.


	9. Christmas with Adrienne

Bernie recognised her the instant she appeared in AAU, unconscious on a trolley in mid-December, even though she had only ever seen her in pictures.

“Elinor.”

She snatched the notes off the paramedic and listened carefully as he told her about the car accident Elinor had been in, about how she’d hit her head and had her legs trapped. About how they’d had to cut her out but she hadn’t woken at any point. About how she was thirty-six weeks pregnant.

That last revelation had made her gasp. Pregnant? How did she not know about this? Did Serena know?

But she couldn’t dwell on it now. She shouted out instructions to take Elinor through to the trauma bay and for someone to call Ms Campbell and get her here as soon as possible. Then she ran into the trauma bay and began rapidly assessing Elinor, all the while the thought that she should probably not be treating her going through her mind. But who else was there?

She fast bleeped Obs and Gynae to come and assess Elinor’s baby. It wasn’t something she knew much about. Sure, she’d spent a rotation on an Obs and Gynae ward but it was back when she was a new doctor. She couldn’t remember much and what she could remember had probably changed in the intervening quarter century.

The immediate damage seemed to be to Elinor’s leg. Neuro arrived quickly and gave Elinor’s head wound a check over but all appeared to be fine there. They left quickly telling Bernie to keep regular obs and get them down again if anything changed. The lack of consciousness might be a blessing anyway, Bernie figured. Goodness knows how much pain Elinor would be in if she was awake.

Looking at Elinor’s leg reminded her once more of Serena. Because this was a vascular injury. And under normal circumstances there was no one she would have wanted working on it except Serena. But there was no way she was going to let Serena anywhere near a theatre. She asked for someone to call Serena again, wracking her brains to try and remember what Serena said she was planning on doing with her day off.

With no sign of Obs and Gynae, or Serena, Bernie ordered a portable ultrasound to check on the baby herself. She wasn’t going to operate on the leg without checking that everything was ok with the baby first. And she needed to operate on the leg right now. This was her only option. And her heart sunk when she ran the scan. Because she might not remember much about babies, but what she did recognise was a baby in distress.

She called Morven in to help and Morven balked at the thought. But they had no options. There was no help coming. There was no Serena coming.

“We can do this,” she said as they scrubbed in, “Paeds are on their way. We’ll do it quick. Get the baby out safely and then get to work on the leg. Everything will be fine.”

Morven squared her shoulders and nodded. “We can do this,” she repeated.

Cutting into the abdomen was a strange experience for Bernie, unused to cutting into undamaged flesh, but they managed. Bernie cut through into the uterus with a gush of amniotic fluid and Morven reached in to pull out the baby.

“A girl!” she exclaimed as she cut the cord.

A paeds consultant pushed an incubator through the theatre doors just at that moment and took charge of the baby girl leaving Morven and Bernie to deal with Elinor. Morven carefully stitched up Elinor’s abdomen while Bernie took a look at the damage to Elinor’s leg. It wasn’t quite as bad as she had thought after all. It wasn’t long at all before she had fixed the small amount of vascular damage and restored the blood supply. She watched as Morven put in more small stitches and they went to scrub out together, Elinor being taken through into the recovery room.

They were all back on the ward, Elinor still unconscious but showing signs of coming around, when Serena crashed in through the doors.

“Elinor,” she shouted, looking madly around the ward, “Where’s Elinor?”

Bernie rushed up to her, worried that she was about to collapse. “Serena? She’s okay. Everything’s okay. She’s over here in the side room.”

She placed a hand on Serena’s shoulder and led her through to see Elinor. Serena dropped to her daughter’s side immediately, grabbing her hand.

“She’s alright?” she asked Bernie, turning her tear stained face away from her daughter for just a moment.

Bernie nodded. “There was some minor vascular damage to her right leg, but I’ve fixed that all up. And Neuro says the head injury is nothing to worry about.” She took a deep breath, wondering how to phrase the next part of Elinor’s condition. “Serena?”

Serena turned back to Bernie.

“Um.” She took another deep breath. Serena was now looking at her concernedly. She had to just say it. “Did you know Elinor was pregnant?”

The small gasp that escaped Serena’s lips told her everything she needed to know.

“What… what do you mean was?” Serena asked, her voice trembling and her face white.

And Bernie realised that her phrasing was unfortunate, making it sound like Elinor had lost the baby.

“We had to deliver, Morven and I. The baby was in distress.” Serena looked even more concerned. “It’s okay, Serena. She’s okay. The baby is okay. She’s upstairs with paeds right now.”

Serena let out a deep breath and colour began to return to her cheeks. She reached out and stroked Elinor’s hair off her face. “My baby had a baby,” she said with wonder.

Bernie reached out and grasped Serena’s hand. She was amazed at how Serena was reacting. She supposed the recriminations would come later but right now all Serena cared about was that her daughter, and granddaughter, were safe.

Elinor came around properly soon afterwards and cried when she found Serena sitting at her bedside. Serena held her close and shushed her until she settled.

“Everything’s okay, love. Everything’s okay.”

Elinor panicked for a moment when she ran her hand down her body to discover that her bump felt very different, but Serena reassured her again. “She’s okay too. She’s just upstairs.”

“I had a girl?” Elinor asked through her tears.

Serena nodded and kissed Elinor’s temple. “You did.”

Elinor smiled. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you,” she started but Serena hushed her again.

“We’ll talk about all of that another time. But right now I think we should see if we can see your daughter.”

Serena pressed the buzzer on the bed and was pleased to find Bernie coming to answer it.

“Everything okay?” she asked. More than anything she wanted to wrap Serena in her arms but she knew that Serena hadn’t told Elinor about them yet.

Serena nodded and beckoned her closer.

“Elinor, this is Bernie,” she said, introducing them.

Elinor nodded. “You’ve talked about her before.”

Serena smiled and nodded. “Bernie was the one who operated on you. She delivered your baby and saved your leg.”

Elinor turned her head to look at Bernie properly. “Thank you,” she said in a quiet voice.

“You’re very welcome.”

“Bernie?” Serena asked, “Have you heard anything from paeds?”

Bernie shook her head. “I’ll go and give them a call.”

She went out to the nurses’ station and called upstairs. She was soon returning to the side room with the news that Elinor’s daughter was completely fine. They were going to send her down to AAU with a nurse straight away.

With some help from Serena, Elinor managed to sit up enough to have her daughter placed in her arms. Serena crowed in close and Bernie hovered in the corner, unsure about what to do with herself.

“Do you have a name?” Serena asked Elinor as they both stared down at the tiny baby.

Elinor brushed a hand through the smattering of dark hair on the top of the baby’s head. “I always wanted to call my first daughter Adrienne.”

A sob escaped Serena’s lips and Bernie couldn’t help but move towards her, her hand rubbing Serena’s back. She wasn’t expecting Serena to turn around and wrap her arms around her waist, her face buried in Bernie’s stomach. She ran her hands up and down Serena’s back and through her hair until she had calmed. Elinor was giving them a strange look but said nothing, just held her daughter tightly.

Serena wouldn’t let Bernie go, even when her tears had stopped. She held onto Bernie’s hand like a lifeline as she tried to tell her daughter how proud of her she was.

“Are you really sure? You really want to call her Adrienne?”

Elinor nodded. “Adrienne Philippa Campbell.”

Serena gripped Bernie’s hand tighter as she smiled.

Elinor needed her rest and so Adrienne was handed back to the paeds nurse with the promise that she could see her whenever she wanted.

“Hopefully we can get you moved up there so you can have her at your bedside while you recover,” Bernie said.

Elinor purposely ignored the fact that Bernie and Serena’s hands were still joined. “How long do I need to stay in hospital?” she asked.

“We should be able to discharge you in about a week, but you’ll need another six weeks after that before you’re feeling anything like your old self again,” Bernie explained.

“You’ll stay with me?” Serena asked and Elinor nodded. “Both of us.”

It was later when Bernie had been forced to go back to check on her other patients that Elinor had brought up the subject of her with Serena.

“Mum?” she asked cautiously, “You and Bernie seem very close.”

Serena felt her face turn bright red. “Yes I suppose we are,” she said.

Elinor raised an eyebrow. “Care to tell me more?”

Serena took a deep breath before replying. “We are… well… I…”

“Are you together?” Elinor asked, realising that she wasn’t going to get anything out of Serena any time soon.

Serena’s blush deepened and she nodded. “I’m sorry Elinor, it’s all so new. I didn’t know how to tell you.”

Elinor patted her mum’s hand. “It’s okay. I think I was hiding the bigger secret this time anyway!”

Serena laughed and began to feel better. “I’ve asked Bernie to spend Christmas with us, if that’s okay?”

Elinor nodded. “Of course. She seems nice, mum. I hope she can make you happy.”

Bernie managed to arrange a transfer up to Obs and Gynae the next day and Elinor was discharged on Christmas Eve along with Adrienne. Bernie volunteered to drive them both home, knowing that Serena would be too distracted by her passengers to drive safely.

Elinor was settled onto the sofa with Adrienne in a basinet next to her. Serena had panic bought a ridiculous amount of baby stuff over the week Elinor was in hospital and the house now resembled an outlet of Mothercare. Elinor was grateful though even if Jason was a bit put out by all the changes. He’d elected to go and stay at Alan’s for a while until the baby had settled.

Bernie paced in the hallway, unsure about whether she was welcome to stay or whether she should just head back to her flat. Serena had tried to convince her that Elinor was fine with them but she still wanted to give their little family a chance to settle in.

Serena found her and dragged her into the sitting room with them. “Stay,” she said, “You deserve to be here, and more than that, I want you to be here.”

They woke in the night to the cries of Adrienne. Serena rushed out of bed to go and help Elinor who still couldn’t walk unaided. Bernie lay her head back on the soft pillows of Serena’s bed and thought about how very different this Christmas was going to be to what she could have imagined only a few months ago. By the time Serena returned, having fed and settled Adrienne, Bernie was fast asleep again.

By the fourth time Adrienne had woken them, Bernie volunteered to go and sort her out. “You’ve done quite enough already,” she said, silencing Serena’s protests, “Let me.”

She walked into Elinor’s room to find Adrienne lying on her back, her face bright red as she screamed. Elinor herself was frantic in the bed next to her, unable to do anything for her daughter. Bernie picked up the screaming baby and placed her on Elinor’s chest where she calmed quickly. Elinor fed her and sang lullabies while Bernie sat in the rocking chair and tried not to drift off to sleep herself. When Adrienne had fallen back to sleep, Bernie lifted her carefully from Elinor and placed her back in the basinet next to the bed.

“Thanks Bernie,” Elinor said wearily as Bernie left the room, “I’m glad you’re here to help.”

They were all sat around the kitchen table eating breakfast, Elinor with one hand rocking the basinet, when the doorbell rang. Serena went to answer it and came back with Cameron and Charlotte trailing behind her.

“Some people here to see you,” she said to Bernie who gawped at her children.

“Surprise?” Cameron said and Bernie stood up to wrap both her children in her arms.

Adrienne felt the need to make herself heard just then and Charlotte took a step towards the basinet as Serena lifted her out.

“Who’s this?” she asked, reaching out to touch Adrienne’s tiny hand.

“Adrienne,” Elinor said, holding her hands out to take her from Serena, “She’s my daughter.”

There followed a long round of introductions as Serena realised that many of the people in the kitchen didn’t know each other. Having Adrienne there seemed to ease the process though.

Charlotte nudged Bernie as they all traipsed into the living room. “I wish you’d told me Elinor had had a baby. I’d have brought a present for her too.”

Bernie held up her hands. “I didn’t know you were coming!”

“Still.”

Bernie wrapped an arm round her daughter’s shoulders. “It was all very sudden. Serena didn’t even know Elinor was pregnant until she had an accident last week and I was forced to deliver Adrienne early.”

“Oh. Oh wow!”

Something about having a new baby in the house produced a calm atmosphere to what could have been a rather fraught Christmas Day, two families trying to find their feet together. Alan brought Jason round for lunch and they all shared a meal Serena had mainly bought from M&S, having other things on her mind that preparing a huge meal over the past week. It was still excellent though and Serena was grateful for Bernie’s help in the kitchen as well.

Jason and Alan stayed late enough to catch the new Doctor Who episode before heading back home. Elinor, tired from the busy day, also went to bed with Bernie and Serena’s help. Adrienne was napping in the basinet and they decided it was easier for the moment for her to stay in the sitting room with them and let Elinor have some proper rest.

“Bring her in when you go to bed, won’t you?” Elinor asked as Serena tucked the covers around her.

Back downstairs, Serena dug out a bottle of Shiraz and doled out glasses to Bernie, Cameron and Charlotte.

“Merry Christmas,” she said, “I do hope this is the first of many we can all spend together.”

A gurgling came from the basinet as Adrienne woke up. Serena bent and picked up her granddaughter in her arms.

“And what a privilege to spend Christmas with you,” she muttered as she rocked the baby in her arms.

Bernie leant over and kissed Serena’s cheeks. “Merry Christmas Serena,” she said and Cameron and Charlotte echoed her.


	10. Hospital kisses

Realistically, Bernie Wolfe had wanted to kiss Serena Campbell since their first conversation over Serena’s broken-down car. But she hadn’t thought about it consciously until Marcus appeared at Holby. The stark comparison between Marcus and Serena made her really, truly aware of how attractive Serena was. And how much Bernie herself was attracted to her.

But she did nothing about it of course. What could she do? Serena was straight as an arrow despite her flirting and there was no point on dwelling on things that couldn’t be.

It was only when Cameron arrived on AAU that the trouble really began. The fact that he picked up on her crush so quickly wasn’t good. She thought she was better at hiding her feelings than that. And then she had to go and upset Serena. Again. When all she wanted to do was make her happy. Her chest contracted, caught between what Serena wanted and what Cameron wanted. How could she choose?

So the first time that Bernie Wolfe had to hold herself back from leaning in and kissing Serena was at the end of that day when, still full of emotions, she had run to say goodnight to Serena. And Serena had forgiven her. And talked about love. She was so soft and so kind and so beautiful that it took all of Bernie’s long tested restraint not to kiss her right there in full view of the entire ward. But Bernie Wolfe knew how to restrain herself and she let Serena go with a quick goodnight. 

* * *

The second time that Bernie almost kissed Serena was after they had finished operating on Fletch. Bernie was angry with herself for not getting psych down quicker. She was deeply upset about Fletch’s injury. She could feel this horrible mix of emotions threatening to burst out of her. And yet Serena was there, close by, calmly speaking words of praise. Bernie turned her head to look at her and Serena smiled at her. Bernie’s eyes flicked down to Serena’s lips. It would be just a matter of a moment to lean over and close the gap. Then she could feel what Serena’s lips felt like. How soft they would be. How supple. But she couldn’t do that to Serena. Serena was her best friend and she wasn’t going to jeopardise that just because she was overly emotional. And so instead she settled for wrapping her arms around Serena and hugging her close. Serena’s arms snaked around her back and they sat there on the floor of the theatre, holding each other tightly, until the next theatre team arrived. 

* * *

The third time that Bernie almost kissed Serena was just a week later. Fletch had finally woken up and there was relief amongst the staff on AAU. Everyone else was going out for a drink at Albie’s to celebrate but Serena had cried off claiming she was just too tired. Bernie had planned on joining everyone else, although her enthusiasm had diminished on hearing that Serena wouldn’t be there. But when she went into their office to collect her coat and bag, she found Serena still there with two empty wine glasses in front of her. She smiled as Serena produced a bottle of wine from the desk drawer and offered her a glass, indicating for Bernie to sit in the guest chair. She sank into it, gratefully accepting the glass of wine. However much she felt like she should be with the rest of the team at Albie’s, this was where she wanted to be. They laughed and chatted about the day while sipping wine. Bernie could have sworn that Serena’s eyes were raking over her whole body at one point but she was sure she must have been mistaken. Their eyes caught over the top of their wine glasses and Bernie’s breath caught in her throat. Serena’s eyes were gentle and loving and all she wanted to do was to knock the wine out of the way and kiss Serena right there and then in their shared office. But she didn’t. She still wasn’t sure what is was that she was seeing in Serena’s eyes. And she knew Serena would murder her for wasting good Shiraz. So she dropped her gaze to the floor and quickly finished her wine. Then she went to join everyone else at Albie’s, able to breath more easily away from Serena. 

* * *

The fourth time she nearly kissed Serena they were in their office once more. Hanssen had just told Bernie about a secondment opportunity in Kiev and asked if she was interested. The colour had seemed to drain out of Serena’s face when she told her about it and now here they were, stood on opposite sides of the office, trying to discuss it like professionals. Except Bernie didn’t feel like a professional. Because her mind was full of Serena. Serena was asking her not to go, saying that they wouldn’t get a locum even half as good as Bernie. Saying that she would miss her too much. Serena passed the brochure back to Bernie, both of them taking a few steps towards each other and suddenly it was all too much. Serena was looking at her with sad eyes and she was oh so close. She took another step forward and their toes were almost touching. She spoke Serena’s name and it was like a prayer. Serena was still staring at her. She hadn’t backed off. She hadn’t moved at all. And Bernie could have sworn that Serena’s eyes were flicking down to her lips. Just a couple more inches and their lips would be touching. Bernie began to lean when there was a knock on the door and they sprung apart to find Raf on the other side. Bernie wasn’t sure whether to kiss him or kill him. She knew that she had been about to kiss Serena and she still hadn’t figured out whether that was a good thing or a bad thing. All she knew was that she needed space to think things through. And what could be better than a sabbatical in a distant country to give you space. 

* * *

The fifth time that Bernie almost kissed Serena was after she arrived back from Kiev. She’d spent all those weeks in Ukraine, unable to think of anything but Serena. She’d analysed every bit of information she could about Serena, every interaction they’d ever had, every message she’d sent. But she was still no clearer about whether Serena might actually like her back. She tried to bury her feelings, hoping that she could settle for friendship. They’d exchanged a couple of messages in Bernie’s absence but nothing of any consequence. Nothing to suggest Serena liked her as anything other than a friend. And so Bernie returned to Holby, determined to pursue only friendship with Serena.

Her resolution had lasted only about an hour. As soon as she found out about Serena’s one-night stand with Robbie, she could feel the jealousy rising within her. She tried to damp it down. She had no right to be jealous of Robbie. No right at all. Serena was giving her funny looks as she tried to say something positive. But there was an atmosphere between them the whole day. In the end, Jason locked the two of them in their office to sort themselves out. And Bernie and Serena managed a stilted conversation. Serena explained that she had felt betrayed by Bernie leaving her. That it was no good having a best friend if said friend disappeared off to a foreign country even when you asked them not to go. Bernie tried to think of what to say, how to explain herself, without revealing her feelings for Serena. She tried to explain her jealousy as concern. Robbie and Serena weren’t right for each other and she didn’t want to see Serena, or Jason, getting hurt again. That much was true but her real motivations were less clear. But the conversation helped and they both forgave each other, promising to try and be better friends in the future. Serena wriggled closer to Bernie and wrapped an arm around her waist, resting her head on Bernie’s shoulder. She was so close Bernie’s senses were overwhelmed. She turned her head to Serena and breathed in the smell of her shampoo. Serena lifted her head and then paused there, mere millimetres from Bernie’s lips. And Bernie almost cried with the pain of stopping herself joining their lips together. But she wasn’t going to do it. They had just agreed to be friends. And friends didn’t kiss like they were drowning. So she just pulled Serena back into a hug and prayed that Jason would let them out of the office soon before she did something she would regret. 

* * *

Cameron appeared with the latest bunch of F1s on AAU, much to Bernie’s surprise. She hadn’t know he was coming, hadn’t heard anything from him for weeks, but she was so glad to see him. She was less glad when he pulled her aside later in the day to ask if her and Serena were serious. Haltingly, she tried to explain that they weren’t together, that they were just friends, but Cameron just raised an eyebrow in disbelief. Over the next couple of weeks, he seemed to accept that they weren’t together but he still couldn’t understand why, cornering Bernie in the locker room and asking her what had happened, why she wasn’t making a move. Bernie gave him as little information as she could get away with, finding having personal conversations with her son rather challenging. And Cameron never seemed to give up.

They all skipped the Christmas party at Albie’s, instead playing poker with Artem. Bernie had clearly taught Cameron well and he even managed to win a few hands, although Bernie beat all of them in the end. They left the ward late in the evening, Cameron trailing behind Bernie and Serena with Morven by his side. Just as they were walking past the nurses’ station, Cameron shouted for them to stop. Both Bernie and Serena spun round to stare at him and he meekly pointed up at the ceiling. Above them hung a sprig of mistletoe. Bernie glared at her son, knowing that he must have put it there earlier precisely for this reason but Serena’s gaze was fixed on Bernie. Slowly, so as not to frighten her friend, she reached out and placed a hand on Bernie’s cheek, stroking gently with her thumb. Bernie turned her head slowly, trying to figure out what was going on. Her eyes met Serena’s and for once she realised that she could tell exactly what Serena was thinking. Her eyes betrayed the love she felt for Bernie. There was nothing Bernie could do except to kiss Serena firmly on her mouth, there, in full view of all their patients. Serena’s hand slid from her cheek into her hair as she moaned into the kiss. Bernie brought her arms around Serena’s back and pulled her in close, deepening the kiss.

They broke apart, breathless, to applause. Not only were Morven and Cameron clapping, Cameron at least having the decency to look embarrassed at seeing his mother kissing his boss so passionately, but many of the patients were applauding too. Bernie ducked her head but Serena stood proud and grabbed Bernie’s hand, interlinking their hands. Then she pulled Bernie into their office and closed the blinds. They might have just given everyone a free show but no one was going to get to see what happened next. This had been too long coming to share with anyone else.


End file.
